Month

I struggled with making a decision, until I finally made it. I put three and one half years into writing my book, I’M IN. I liked my first draft. Others did not and gave me a devastating blow. I was told it was dry and boring; the details were only meaningful to me. It had no appeal. OUCH! I thought about giving up. I did give up. I couldn’t let go that easily. I spent countless hours contemplating the qu

Today is a day we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. To some, this is merely a day off from work or school, a trip to Grandma’s house, having a turkey dinner in the middle of the afternoon, and watching football. It’s a break from a normal routine. For me, it means none of those things. Lately, I have been investing my thoughts and emotions and giving my time and effort to help strangers find their lo

No one ever taught me how to multi-task. I just kind of learned it. For instance, I can watch television, eat my dinner, talk with my wife, Cathy, and text message a friend all at the same time. The problem is, I am not fully enjoying any one of them. The other night, I was forced to become aware of what I was doing. I received a message that all the food at the shelter had been eaten. I was extremely excited! The ch

The clock couldn’t move fast enough. For hours, my brain instructed my body to carry out the task of dealing blackjack at a local casino; it was my job. Meanwhile, my emotions were screaming at me, “What are you doing here? Isn’t Shadow more important than this?” Yes, he most certainly is. But I have bills to pay and gas to put in the car. I need the money. Just leave me alone and let me finis

Catching a shadow is no easy task, especially when the shadow is not your own. It begins with a call for help. Someone reaching out to let you know, they have lost their shadow. “How did you lose it? Where did you lose it? When was the last time you saw your shadow?” I mean, yeah, sometimes it goes out of sight, but it should always return. This particular shadow has been seen in the daylight, but never

The other night, I had an awkward motivation to watch Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech. I don’t know what prompted the idea, but I followed the “calling.” King abandoned his script and his agenda after Mahalia Jackson, a famous gospel singer, who was in the audience, shouted, “Tell them about the dream Martin.” Reverend King was visibly more comfortable without the safety

I realized this year, Charles M. Schulz teaches his audience a powerful lesson in his 1966 classic animated television special, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Maybe, that’s why it has been shown every year at Halloween for the past 46 years. It has withstood the test of society’s fickle nature and recent fascination towards reality TV. Oh, but this animated story is very real! The story is n